Sweden Offering Its Expertise For The Development of Smart Cities In India

Swedish Minister of European Union Affairs and Trade, Ann Linde, today offered India expertise and technology for a Common Plan of Action in promoting sustainable and green-friendly public transport solutions, and solid waste management, being developed in smart cities.

Ann Linde, today met the Minister of Urban Development, M Venkaiah Naidu, and held detailed discussions on possible areas of cooperation in respect of the development of smart cities.

Sweden and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2015 to promote sustainable urban development and Smart City Mission.

The visiting Swedish Minister said her country is a global leader in waste management, urban mobility solutions, smart parking systems, air filtration, real-time information systems, command and control systems etc., which are integral to smart city plans of Indian cities. She further said that a Swedish company SCANIA would soon be operating 55 ethanol based buses in Nagpur.

Naidu said that India’s Smart City mission offered ample opportunities for investments to both Indian and foreign companies. He said that selected smart cities would be happy to benefit from Swedish technologies and particularly, in the areas of public transport and solid waste management. He suggested to the visiting minister to advise Swedish companies to reach out to respective cities for partnering in the implementation of their smart city plans.